weaver



p 6, 1932- M. J. WEAVER 1,875,533

TREE PROTECTOR Filed July 9, 1951 INVENTOR Milo J. I/Veayer BY 9. 3a g ATTORNEEYQ Patented Sept. 6, 1932 outrun STATES; PATENT into 3'. wmvnm or tennis? HEIGfi'rs; omio man-momma:

- .a iieatio nied-guly 9; 1981. se ner '18); 5192649.

Tliisinvention: relates to the protection. of fruit trees, and more particu larlfy toe method of and means for protecting; fruit trees adj a-* 4 cent the base thereof from attack and de-- teriorati'omby animals, fire and other causes;

Fruittrees sometimes: entire" orchards are destroyed by deterioration of the trunks of the trees adjacentto" the-i ground; Suchdestruction occurs. principally from two sources, namely, removal oi the barkby ro'-- dents, such'as. rabbits,.=field mice", and other small animals, and burning of the bark by grass fires; "Removal otthe" bark particularly of young treesyby rodents may occur at all seasons oi the year, but occursespecially in: the coldseasons when food is scarcctv Grass firesa occin'- frequently, particui arl-y in:

hot dry weather; thczflarnes aatt ackingthe trees near the ba'se'thcreof. In both cases the'ree suit is the serious deterioration or'killing oi the trees. In certain instances, the losses from: these sourcesihave been enormous.

An object of my inven-tionis to provide: a

method of protecting fruit treesat their base 7 from attack by rodents and: other small a-ni= I mails, and" from" fire andi like causes; while yet permitting. free access-of'a'ir and moisture to the base of such trees for; theaunim-paired growth thereof. I

" Anotherobj'cctis to provide-aisi mple and economical methodof andimeansforprotcct ing fruit trees, suchmeans: beingv capable; odi withstanding summer and: winter temperatureswithout material: deterionati om F Another; object is to provide means; to sun round fruitstrees at: their baseto prevent animals, fire: and the like; frominj lining the bark and substance of such treesiwhile" yet' notvin- Iii-biting the growth: or adversely a'fi eoting the i 40 health thereof.-

Qther objectsof the: invention: wi -H bo ap= parentto 'thoseskillcd' in the artgfrom thedis closures: l1erein-:made;-

- By my.inwcntioniI'encircle: the base of the fruit tree to be protected withmi collar ariraii gecl' to rest oh the ground and bfSilChi shape and dimensions as to preventrodents from accessfio the'bark o-fthetreeat-the base-thereof. The collar is spaced fromzthe surtaoeof the,- tree and is so constituted as to permit access of air,- moisture and: sum shine-to the base ot the tree while at the same time preventing formation 1 of mold or mildew on tl'ii'e portion of the tree within thezcollar." Thecollar is of material ofgireat durabilifiyand is composed of sectionsof such size and: shape as to permit ready shipment and easy assembly thereof. Further features ofthe invention wil'l appear as thedescri-ption thereof progresses. v

In the drawing which illustrates a specific embodiment of this invention V 'iFigur'e'l isan elevational view showing the assembled: collar :in position around the base of: afruit tree; i

5 Fig.2 isa top planview 'ofi the-assembledcollar; I Fig; 3' is: a vertical elevation of 7 one? section of the collar-Flocking toward thc'i'nterior there= of; and I I Fig.4 is a horizontal section: taken online tunin s. v

Iirthe drawingl haveshown a sectional cylindricalprotector 1t Theprotoctonl is shown as resting on'thesurfaceofi the ground and: assurrounding the base ofthe fruitti-ee 2 ini'spa ceda' relation the-retell The annular collar or protector 1: is: shown as comprising three longitudinal Sol-id sections Sof identical size and: shape; the section? 3 being securcd in assembled relation by wi rcs4gor equivalent assembly means. The sections 3- asshowir are maderof waterproot concrete and are shown as thieker'in scction'at 5-adjacentthelongitudinal edges 6 thereof to: impart increased strength: to-the completed structure; In the? specific form of my invention illustrated in: the drawing the increased thickness of section at 5 is accomplished by increasing the'radiusofcurvature,- or in? other-words, decreasingwthe curvature of theother surface: adjacent the longitudinal edges 6; In theassembled pro"- teeter- 1, thereforeytheinterior of the protector isshowfn as= circular in sectionand the exterior is somewhat. flattened adjacent the longitudinal meeting edges-6.

To'hold the sections 3' more readily and more securely in assembledposition I have 100 provided the gno'oves 7 and 8 adjacent: the

longitudinal edges of the sections. These grooves 7 and 8, as shown, are of greatest depth at the longitudinal edges 6 and gradually fade out toward the central portion of each section 3. The grooves 7 and 8 are of such depth as to provide, together with the central exterior portions of the sections, a circular path for the assembly -wires 4 whereby such wires may contact with the sections substantially throughout the entire periphery of the protector "1. The width of the grooves 7 and 8 preferablyis such as to accommodate snugly the assembly' medium employed and may be varied to accommodate the dimensions of the particular assembly members employed. The longitudinal edges of each section are shown as cut away at 9 adjacent the central portion of the edges 6 to'provide in the assembled protector the longitudinal slots 9 which are large enoughto permit'active circulation of air into and out of the annular space 10 between the protector 1 and tree 2, but not large enough to permit rodents such as rabbits, field mice, etc. to gain access to the tree. I

My protector may be of widely varying dimension according to the particular circumstances. By way of example and illustration, however, I have found that a protector of approximately ten inches internal diameter and sixteen to eighteen inches height to be very satisfactoryfor use with apple trees up to fifteen years of age. For any given case the internal diameter of the protector should be suflicient to provide ample air space around the tree and the height ofthe protector should be sufficient to prevent rodents and like animals from gaining access to the surface of'the tree. The thickness of the protector sections 3 is such as to'provide adequate mechanical strength, and referring to the above specific example, sections of approximately one inch in thickness at the centralportion have been found to be very satisfactory.

WVhile the protectors 1 may be made in any suitable number of longitudinal sections of equal or unequal dimension, I-have found it preferable to make the protector in three equal sections, whereby a single mold may be employed andwhereby such sections may be readily and compactlypacked for shipment or storage.

- While my improved protector may be made of any suitable material, metallic or nonmetallic, I have found the use of concrete, particularly water-proof concrete, to be. advantageous and-preferable. Thus, waterproof concrete retains its shape and does not crumble upon-long exposure to the-atmosphere and is exceedingly durable and nonfragil. Furthermore, a protector of concrete does not draw moisture from the tree or otherwise tend to dry up the tree. The con:

crete protector, moreover, may if desired, be reinforced by metallic wires, screening, or other suitable means.

While ventilation apertures might be provided through the protector at any suitable place therein, the provision of the slots 9 at the meeting edges of the sections is highly ac J vantageous in that they may be readily formed, do not appreciably weaken the structure, and permit a large amount of ventilation for a given size of slot, and further per- .mit the removal of excess heat and prevent the formation of mold or mildew on the bark of thetree. v

While I have illustrated my protector as substantially circular in section it will be obvious that the protector may be of any suitable shape for encompassing a tree. Thus, the protector might be of polygonal, elliptical, or any other regular or. irregular shape.

It will be noted that my improved sectional fruit tree protector is sufficiently flexible in construction to withstand the wide variation between summer and winter temperature s, and to withstand the compressive or expansive pressure of ice Without destruction..

It will furtherbe noted that the strengthening of the protector sections along their longitudinal 'edgesmay be accomplished by decreasing the outer radius of curvatures, as shown in the drawing, by increasing the inner radius adjacent the longitudinal edges, or in any other suitable or equivalent manner.

It will further be seen that by my invention fruit trees are protected at their bases from attack and deterioration by rodents and other animals and from grass fires such as frequently occur in' orchards, while yet access of air, moisture and sunshine is permitted. Furthermore, by permitting the v protector to rest on the ground at or near the surface thereof, delicate roots of young trees lying close to the surface are not injured.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the particular forms of apparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth, are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and that various modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be made without departing from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I'claim is:

. 1. A'fruit protector comprising, in combination, a concrete collar arranged to rest upon the ground and to surround the base of a tree in spaced relation thereto, said collar extending from the ground upwardly to a heigh to prevent scaling thereof by rodents, said collar comprising a plurality of longitudinal sections, said sections being of greater thickness along their longitudinal edges to strengthen said sections, and means holding said sectlons in assembled relation.

"2. A fruit protector comprising, in combination, a concrete collar arranged to rest upon the ground and to surround the base of a tree in spaced relation thereto, said collar extending from the ground upwardly to a height to prevent scaling thereof by rodents, said collar comprising a plurality of longitudinal sections which abut edge to edge and which are thickened along their abutting edges, and

spaced bands holding said sections in as- I sembled relation, the thickened portions of said sections having grooves to receive said bands.

3. A fruit protector comprising, in combination, a concrete collar arranged to rest upon the ground and to surround the base of a tree in spaced relation thereto, said collar extending from the ground upwardly to a height to prevent scaling thereof by rodents, said collar comprising three substantially identical sections of substantially 120 degrees circumferential extent, the outer side of the portions of each said section adjacent the longitudinal edges thereof being of substantially greater radius of curvature to thicken said sections adjacent said longitudinal edges, said sections being grooved at said thickened sections to provide true'circular paths around the entire collar, and binding means in said grooves surrounding said collar to contact With substantially the entire periphery of said collar and hold the collar sections in as sembled relation. I

4:. A fruit protector comprising, in combination, a concrete collar arranged to rest upon the ground and to surround the base of a tree in spaced relation thereto, said collar extending from the ground upwardly to a,

height to prevent sealingthereof by rodents,

said collar comprising a plurality of longitudinal sections, said sections having shallow I recesses in their longitudinal-meetingedges intermediate the top and bottom of the collar to provide elongated slots sufliciently large to permit ready access of air but narrow enough to exclude rodents, and means holding said sections in assembled relation.

11 testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

MILO J. WEAVER. 

